Hawassee fly fishing!

Hello fellow fly fishers! I am trying to plan a trip to Hiawassee Georgia fly fishing from March 14th to the 19th. I believe my brother has access to a house on the river to stay at but needs some help on what to arm himself and his son with for flies in the area and what colors rooster tail if there is lure fishing allowed. I am unclear on the fishing season on the Hiawassee. Some things I read I see fishing all year and others I see 3rd Saturday in March. I would surely appreciate any info you can help me with by either posting here or if you prefer the info only intended for me and not the world as a whole your more than welcome to email or pm me. Looking forward to hearing from you and thank you in advance!


Scott

Scott,
Didn't know you were a fly fisherman. I've been away from it for a while, but used to be pretty heavily involved before getting my bird dog. Have fun on the river.

Hi Mark, Its been a little while but I have been fishing since I was big enough to hold a fishing pole and fly fishing since before I was a teenager on the Salmon river around Comstock's bridge with my late grandfather. Some of my earliest and best memories are fishing related. I don't know if I'll go or not I am mainly trying to help my brother and his son.

http://www.georgia-outdoors.com/forum/index.php
^^^^
These guys know more about Georgia trout than anyone else.

The Hawassee river is a year round stream. You can use a spinning rod, but not live fish (minnows) as bait. Treble hooks are allowed. You can only use one rod at a time.

http://www.georgiawildlife.com/Fishing/Trout
^^^^
This is a listing of all trout streams in Georgia. The Hawassee is in Towns county. Streams shown in green are open year round, ones in blue are seasonal, and areas highlighted in yellow are heavily stocked.

Unicoi Outfitters are the big fly shop in that area. Very helpful folks. They will have knowledge of what is the current hatch and current hot flies to use.

AllenG said:

http://www.georgia-outdoors.com/forum/index.php
^^^^
These guys know more about Georgia trout than anyone else.

The Hawassee river is a year round stream. You can use a spinning rod, but not live fish (minnows) as bait. Treble hooks are allowed. You can only use one rod at a time.

http://www.georgiawildlife.com/Fishing/Trout
^^^^
This is a listing of all trout streams in Georgia. The Hawassee is in Towns county. Streams shown in green are open year round, ones in blue are seasonal, and areas highlighted in yellow are heavily stocked.

Unicoi Outfitters are the big fly shop in that area. Very helpful folks. They will have knowledge of what is the current hatch and current hot flies to use.

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Thanks for the good info Allen it is much appreciated. If I may be of any help to you please let me know.

Hi...we have a place just off the river north of Blue Ridge. Only advice I can offer is to be SURE you are not on posted land. Never a good thing. Unicoi Outfitters is a good shop, but don't overlook these guys.

blueridgeflyfishing.com.

PS When in town, don't miss dining at "Harvest on Main"...simply amazing!!

Acmemfg said:

Hi...we have a place just off the river north of Blue Ridge. Only advice I can offer is to be SURE you are not on posted land. Never a good thing. Unicoi Outfitters is a good shop, but don't overlook these guys.

blueridgeflyfishing.com.

PS When in town, don't miss dining at "Harvest on Main"...simply amazing!!

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Thank you good food is always nice to know of!.

Blueridge outfitters is a great shop.


Speaking of Blueridge (40 miles east of Hiawassee) if you happen to find yourself there, Bill Oyster's fly rod shop is downtown. He's the Stradivarius of bamboo fly rods. Worth seeing just for the art aspect of his rods.

AllenG said:

Blueridge outfitters is a great shop.


Speaking of Blueridge (40 miles east of Hiawassee) if you happen to find yourself there, Bill Oyster's fly rod shop is downtown. He's the Stradivarius of bamboo fly rods. Worth seeing just for the art aspect of his rods.

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Then I would likely go home with one.

life2short1971 said:

Then I would likely go home with one.

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Careful. They have Strad price tags too.

AllenG said:

Careful. They have Strad price tags too.

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Yeah my skills aren't such that I could justify the reel never mind the rod of that outfit.

At this time of year, I would think that nymphs, such as small copper Johns, would be your best bet.
cottontop

Thank you